PROJECT A Narratorium- Slave Music
LOCATION Savannah, GA, USA
PROJECT COMPLETION DATE 9/17/2015
PROJECT CATEGORY Undergraduate / Upper Level Design
PROJECT TYPE Studio
ENTRANT Bhavana Shyamsundar
TEAM MEMBERS
SCHOOL Savannah College of Art and Design
FACULTY SPONSOR Scott Singeisen, Professor / Architecture
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
Design intent was to create a conceptual building or space that "provokes a story or narration" so we were encouraged to pick a concept and site in the city of Savannah. This project was our way of exploring or challenging the built environment in a peculiar way that enhanced the nature of our concept and site.
STUDENT'S STATEMENT
The topic that I chose for my project was slave music and I wanted to pick a site that symbolized this time period in Savannah. I approached this project by researching different slave songs and figuring how they could all relate back to each other and the site. I chose four different songs and there were four different spaces that the building interacted with the site so I thought of 4/4 which is also musical time signature. Even though slave music would not be characterized in this rhythmic pattern, I came into the realization of how the building could mimic the irregularity and staggered feel of slave music. I used music as a medium to convey the facades of my building and the songs to dictate the feelings of the spaces. Even though the life of a slave is so complex I tried to convey it in four spaces. The building also challenges the historical facades of Savannah while trying to make a statement and mark for the slaves who had to endure life as a captive.
IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS
IMAGE 1: ANarratorium-SlaveMusic_highresimage1,Bhavana Shyamsundar
IMAGE 2: ANarratorium-SlaveMusic_highresimage2, This floor is the second interactive space that leads you into the horrors of rebellion slave life. Each extrusion, lines up with the stairs/landing which project video clips of slaves before, during, or after the affects of a rebellion. This space is not only an auditory but visual space that takes you through a chaotic journey that African American slaves had to go through to reach freedom. The concept was to create a chaotic space that took the user on a journey that resembled the unstable and riotous life of slavery. , Bhavana Shyamsundar
IMAGE 3: ANarratorium-SlaveMusic_highresimage3, Slavery is distinguished with anxiety & this feeling of “tightness”, so as you enter through the ground floor, half of the building is concealed with glass, which makes the building appear to be floating and creating a sort of tension, of a massive & rigid mass on top of you. The user is also exposed to an important aspect of the site, which are the barraccoons. These tunnel-like structures were used to temporarily hold slaves so users get first hand experience of the obstacles of slave life. , Bhavana Shyamsundar
IMAGE 4: ANarratorium-SlaveMusic_highresimage4, South and East Elevations, Bhavana Shyamsundar
IMAGE 5: ANarratorium-SlaveMusic_highresimage4, The form was inspired by musical time signatures and how notes in a measure are accentuated/less accentuated depending on what beat they represent. I thought of this visually with undulating surfaces that acted as the complex rhythmic patterns, off key notes of slave music as well as symbolizing the spontaneity of slave life, and portraying a dominant presence on site.(Sheet music came form Robert Schumann: Mignon), Bhavana Shyamsundar
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MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
A Narratorium- Slave Music
Category
AIA Maryland Student Design Awards > Undergraduate > Undergraduate / Upper Level Design
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